Researchers develop honeycomb-like structure to trap dangerous gases

Researchers have developed a new method that can trap potentially harmful gases emitted by coal factories, cars and trucks within honeycomb-like microscopic organo-metallic structures. These structures can trap emissions from things as immense as coal factories and as small as cars and trucks.PTI | Updated: December 14, 2016, 17:54 IST

Houston: Researchers have developed a novel method that can trap potentially harmful gases emitted by coal factories, cars and trucks within honeycomb-like microscopic organo-metallic structures.

These Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are made of different building blocks composed of metal ion centres and organic linker molecules, said researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas in the US.

Together they form a honeycomb-like structure that can trap gases within each comb, or pore.

The tiny nano-scale structures also have the potential to trap various emissions from things as immense as coal factories and as small as cars and trucks.

"These structures have the ability to store gases, but some gases are too weakly bound and cannot be trapped for any substantial length of time," said Dr Kui Tan, a research scientist at UT Dallas and lead author of the study.

After studying this problem, Dr Kui Tan decided to try to introduce a molecule that can cap the outer surface of each of Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) crystal in the same way bees seal their honeycombs with wax to keep the honey from spilling out.